Interview with Author – Dawn Chandler

About Dawn Chandler:
I grew up in a very small town, about 200 people. I spent my days in the lake swimming and thinking of stories. I enjoy camping, hiking, swimming, drawing and writing. I began to write in middle school though I had to put it aside for many years due to family obligations. My first husband was ill and I had to spend a lot of time taking care of him and working several jobs in order to support the family. When he passed away I lost myself in my writing. I now have one novel published and several more on the way to the publisher.

What inspires you to write?
I have always felt drawn to writing. I see stories in the things around me, I hear whispers of characters in my head. I don’t think I have much choice but to write…they get fairly insistent if I don’t.

Tell us about your writing process.
I am a seat of the pants writer. I sit down at the computer and wait for a character to pipe up and start telling me their story. I always say the stories are not mine, they are my characters and I am just lucky enough to get to tell their tales.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t really talk to them, except to tell them to hush every once in a while when they become to insistent and I have no chance to sit down. I do however listen to them a great deal. I get lost in their worlds as often as I can.

What advice would you give other writers?
The biggest thing I have learned is to never give up on yourself or your dreams. No matter where you want to be in life, or what your plans are, strive to make it happen. I spent many years not allowing anyone to see my work for fear that it was not good enough, but with some not so gentle encouragement from my loved ones, I finally reached my dream. I love seeing my work on the bookstore shelves amongst writers that I love and admire.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I looked into self publishing and I like the idea of keeping more of my money. All the publishers that I looked into wanted to keep too much of my profits. I rejected most of the publishers that I looked into for that reason. I finally found a publisher that I was more than happy with the contract and what I get to keep. There were two main reasons that I went with a traditional publisher as opposed to either self publishing or assisted publishing. First and most important, editing. I love having several editors go through my work before it ever sees the light of day. Second, I was unfamiliar with the work that went into getting a book out to the public and I was unwilling to put money up front. I am not familiar with setting up all the different formats that each place takes, I did not know where to post my book. I never considered assisted publishing where you pay someone to publish your work, just for the fact that I wasn’t going to put my money all up front. I wanted someone to do all the work and pay me. I did though, almost go the self publishing route, but I am very happy that I held off and waited for acceptance from a traditional publisher.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think it will evolve and change as time and people do. With the on the go world it had to change. It had to become as mobile as the readers. I hate every time a brick and mortar store closes, but books and stories as we know them will continue on forever. They have been around since someone realized that berries made great pictures on the cave walls and they will be here as long as there are people. Stories have always been a part of humanity, from the playwrights and novelists, to the bards and minstrels.